Durian.

Deuteronomy 31:6 “For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Josh and I just finished up with a team that came in from California to go work at an orphan home in the town of Snule. We had the opportunity to paint the home, the cafeteria and the bathroom, along with building a brick wall for the front of the home, laying a cement walkway from the bathrooms to the cafeteria, beginning a fence that will enclose the yard, purchasing tables and chairs for the cafeteria (they had eaten their meals on the mats at the home previously), and getting the chance to connect with an amazing group of kids and adults who call this building home. The team did crafts with the kids each afternoon, which was a huge success, and at the end of the week the time culminated in a carnival that included face painting, balloon animals, a fishing game, bean bag toss, and lots and lots of candy (and free tooth brushes).

Josh and I commented often on the fact that we really enjoyed this team (especially if any of them are reading this now..) as we got to really connect with them throughout the two weeks, find out more of their stories, what brought them to Cambodia, and most importantly share the Cambodian delicacy of durian cake together.

For anyone who hasn’t heard of or experienced durian, it is a fruit with a spiky outer shell (as if this alone shouldn’t be enough of a warning against consumption) that is outlawed in most all hotels and guest houses in Cambodia. Why? Because the smell is so rancid that a law had to be passed to protect innocent people from it.

The first hint of our horrible encounter with the illegal delicacy came when I’d taken my first bite of cake and heard my husband whisper to me “I think the frosting is made of durian….” Shock and awe. Word soon spread throughout the table and mayhem ensued. Or maybe some people still ate the cake and others made elaborate gagging gestures. Either way.

And perhaps it wasn’t quite this dramatic, but that’s how it lives on in my mind.

This team brought with it not only new experiences but also new questions and new ways to be challenged. It’s an interesting task trying to navigate this Teams Coordinator role with Josh while still largely feeling like I’m the one on the missions trip. I think I allowed this fact to frustrate me initially, wanting to be an expert cement mixer, brick layer, painter, leader, etc right from the start. I will eventually (hopefully sooner than later) learn that this is not a terribly reasonable (or wise) expectation.

I had some good time to reflect on my first 3 teams during my time in Snule as I prayed that the Lord would help me see things not only from my perspective of someone who has chosen to live in Cambodia serving with multiple teams throughout the next several months, but to see through the eyes of people who are here for a much shorter time. The people on these teams have prepared, raised finances, attended meetings, given of their time and energy and normal routine to travel across the world and serve the people we are called to love (widows and orphans). That is powerful to me. More so as we all sat around on Thursday night during our beach time and shared some of what the Lord had done in us during the trip. It was a good reminder to me that simply because I live and work here does not mean I am free from the temptation to let moments slip by. It is easy regardless of where we live and what we do to see a full calendar and equate that to busy-ness, check lists, early mornings, and occasional exhaustion. :)

I felt challenged to approach the current and upcoming calendar with a sense of expectation of what God will do in my own brief time here. I want to be concerned with His schedule rather than my own.

I also wrote in my journal during the trip that I want to be changed. This is no small request. I've discovered that it is easy to be the more ideal version of me when I am sitting on the bed at the end of the day, my iPod on, Bible open, journaling lofty goals and ideals for growth and change. I find that these moments of isolation tend to thinly veil my aversion to the messiness of real life, of interacting with people, until I realize that it's through these exact moments that growth occurs. My last journal entry ends with this, "I like to hope that the switch in my brain will suddenly turn back to its original state, that I'd be able to operate the way I was intended to, not easily offended (Lord help me), not afraid to change, to be honest, to lead, to serve, to love, to walk in the image I was born to reflect, rather than shudder at the one I too often embody."

Here are some pictures from this past team, along with a special shot at the end of my first 8 legged meal in Cambodia (in all reality I only ate one of the legs...).

Halfway through painting...


Completed painting.
We killed many spiders to paint the inside of this bathroom...






























































They call this the "sno-cone" technique. Masterful.


Carnival day.



























Sunday morning church service.





















































The kids all received new outfits and stuffed animals.








































R&R time at the beach in Sihanoukville.












Cambodia rain gear.
















Shannon's birthday! "ooooooooooooooooooooo! aahhh" (-Baby Mama)















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